AuthorTopic: GI Joe 50th Anniversary Tribute by OB (Read 17723 times)

GI Joe is turning 50 in 2014 and that calls for a celebration. Let's kick off the year with a new themed month. Starting January 1st, there will be a new 50th anniversary custom revealed each day during the month. Check back each day in January for a new reveal.

GI Joe! GI Joe!Fighting man from head to toe!On the land…On the sea…In the air!

GI Joe is turning 50 in 2014 and that calls for a celebration. So let's kick off the year with a new themed month. Starting January 1st, there will be a new 50th anniversary custom revealed each day during the month. Check back here each day for a new reveal or sign up to my blog: http://oreobuildersblog.blogspot.ca/

GI Joe turns 50 in 2014 and I have prepared a series of customs to mark the event. Check back here everyday of the month for my 50th Anniversary Tribute to GI Joe. Or, you can follow at my blog: Oreobuilder's Blog

I was born in 1976. So, growing up, the only GI Joe that I knew of and played with was the 3.75’’ Real American Hero. I followed their battles with Cobra on TV and through the comics. I had about three-dozen figures and several vehicles. My interest in GI Joe’s origins started when I was an adult. I ‘’discovered’’ the Adventure Team by doing research online for a Group Project at Joecustoms.com. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities and projects. In 2009, the Official GI Joe Collector’s Club launched a small line of 3.75’’ Adventure Team figures. These consisted of the four main characters with vehicles.

I have decided to focus on GI Joe’s first dozen years. My line up of customs will include homages to figures, vehicles and playsets from the 1964-76 era. Some will be pretty vintage accurate, while others will be re-interpretations. My goal with each custom was to keep the ‘’feel’’ of the original toys.

50th Anniversary Day 1: Action Soldier

One of the four figures that started it all, Action Soldier was released in 1964. He included basic olive green fatigues, brown combat boots, an OD cap, dog tags, rank insignia stickers and an Army Field Manual. The basic nature of his uniform allowed kids to collect add-on accessory kits such as the field vest, the helmet as well as various weapons and gear. The kits that were purchased allowed kids to customize their GI Joe for specific missions.

This project has to start here. Action Soldier was the first GI Joe ever conceived of by Sam Speers and Don Levine at Hasbro in 1963. My first custom represents the basic Action soldier with fatigues, cap, dog tags and field manual (Set number 7500). The second figure is the Action Soldier outfitted with the Combat Helmet (7507) and Combat Rifle Sets (7510). The third figure features the Field Jacket and Combat Rifle with Bayonet.

The next two figures are homages to more uniforms and accessory kits that were released for Action Soldier.

The Military Police uniform was part of the first assortment of GI Joe product in 1964. It included an olive green Ike Jacket, Ike Pants, duffle bag, baton, helmet and belt. I tried to reproduce the look as best I can, even if the jacket is not perfectly accurate.

The Snow Troops equipment was introduced in 1965 and was the first environment-specific gear created for GI Joe. My custom represents Action Soldier outfitted with gear from three different sets: Ski Patrol Set (7531), Mountain Troops Set (7530) and the Army Ski Troops Set (7527).

The next figure is a homage to one of the most popular uniform and accessory kit released for Action Soldier. It was later re-used to create the Adventure Team Commander and has become the image of GI Joe himself.

In 1966, with the US increasing its involvement in Southeast Asia, the war in Vietnam was invading the nightly news broadcasts as well as the American consciousness. It seemed logical for GI Joe to go to Vietnam. So, two years after GI Joe’s introduction, Hasbro released the hugely popular Green Beret set for Action Soldier. The uniform set included the field jacket, pants, beret, M-16 rifle, belt and grenades.

With the success of the first GI Joe line in 1964, Hasbro released the Official GI Joe Jeep the following year. It originally retailed for 10$ (a lot of money in 1965) and included several features:- Trailer with working searchlight- Rocket Firing recoilless rifle- Realistic vehicles sounds- Could seat two figures.

I started this vehicle with a Power Team Elite (PTE) jeep and trailer. Initially, I was not going to change it much as it was going to serve as background filling to take pictures. However, I started with small changes and those led to an all-new vehicle.

First, I started by adding/modifying the hubcaps. Then, I moved the spare tire from the back to the side. After that, I removed the radio and antenna from the original jeep. I used a 30th Cobra Viper rocket launcher as a base to build the recoilless rifle. After that, I added the searchlight in the trailer. Finally, I cut and added some styrene to change the shape and size of the windshield.

The second of the four services, Action Sailor represented the Navy. In early concepts, he was named Skip. Released alongside Action Soldier in 1964, Action Sailor (7600) included a light blue Navy work shirt, dark blue pants, a naval cap, dog tags, rank insignias and a Navy manual.

The Navy Attack (7606) and Navy Attack helmet (7610) sets were sold separately and included a life vest, blinker light, binoculars, semaphore flags and the Navy helmet to equip your Action Sailor for battle.